The police have sealed off the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after a clash between two rival factions on Tuesday.
Our correspondent, who visited the PDP headquarters at Wadata Plaza in Abuja on Wednesday, observed that barbed wire had been set up to prevent access to the premises.
None of the leaders from either faction was present, with only a few policemen on site.
However, a chieftain of the faction led by Kabiru Turaki opposed the police barricade, insisting that the Turaki-led group would enter their offices regardless.
The crisis escalated on Tuesday when rival groups confronted each other at the secretariat. Security operatives were stationed at the premises as Samuel Anyanwu and other supporters loyal to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, refused to vacate the office.
Chaos erupted when Turaki, along with Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, and other members of the newly elected PDP executives, arrived at the secretariat.
The police fired teargas as Anyanwu’s supporters tried to block the group from entering. Turaki later remarked, “If we had not exercised restraint, if we had not controlled our members and our leaders, there would have been bloodshed here.”
He added, “We have been tear-gassed, and I think more than 50 canisters of tear gas had been shot at us. But we remained relentless and will continue to remain relentless.”
Following the standoff, Turaki officially assumed office as the National Chairman of the PDP on Tuesday. His resumption marks a significant development after the tensions that rocked the party’s secretariat.
The latest developments follow the PDP’s convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, from November 15 to 16, 2025.
The convention came amid conflicting court rulingsone permitting the event to proceed, and another ordering the party to halt its activities.
During the gathering, the Turaki-led faction expelled Samuel Anyanwu, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, and several others for alleged anti-party activities.
In response, Anyanwu and his supporters rejected the suspensions, dismissing the convention as a “jamboree” and illegal, and retaliated by expelling Turaki, Governors Bala Mohammed and Seyi Makinde, and other members of the rival faction.
